Telenor said recently that its new collaboration with Huawei Technologies could mean a relationship worth billions of dollar and for Huawei this could mean a first step in the Chinese company’s global ambition.

According to Reuters, Norway’s leading wireless carrier dumped its primary longtime equipment suppliers Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Network this month and chose Huawei Technologies to build its 4G mobile network as well as modernize its existing infrastructure.

John Fredrik Baksaas, Telenor CEO, said that the collaboration could be in Huawei’s best interest and the Norwegian wireless carrier considers its partner in developing 4G network based on Long-Term Evolution technology.

“This is a long-term contract, more than five years,” Baksaas told Reuters. “The overall picture is we invest on an annual basis about 10 percent of sales in capex in Norway. A good percentage of that will be allocated to modernization.”

Telenor operates in different markets in Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and Asia and has over 172 million subscribers. Baksaas said that the contract could mean for Huawei a chance to “take it into other markets.”